The present invention relates generally to the art of electrical connectors. More particularly, the invention relates to connectors having integrated filtering components, such as capacitors.
Electrical connectors are widely used in communication, data processing or other electronic systems. Typically, such connectors include an insulative housing which mounts a plurality of elongate contact elements. When configured as a "socket," the connector will often be mounted onto a suitable substrate, such as a circuit board. The corresponding "plug" is adapted to rapidly interconnect with the socket.
It is often desirable to filter circuit paths of the respective contact elements in order to remove interference and other extraneous electrical signals. In some arrangements, filtering has been achieved by providing capacitors or other filtering components on the circuit board to which the connector socket is mounted. While generally effective, these arrangements have often been considered undesirable in part due to the circuit board "real estate" taken up by the filtering components.
Alternatively, capacitors or other filtering components have been incorporated into the connector body. While these arrangements may provide additional "real estate" on the circuit board, they have not been without disadvantages. For example, arrangements of this type have often been difficult to assemble or otherwise configure to achieve the desired filtering function. Such difficulties may be exacerbated by an incompatibility between connector housings having different external configurations.